-------- Original Message --------
Oggetto: Kostunica grapples with war crimes in Yugoslavia
Data: Wed, 08 Nov 2000 20:34:54 +0100
Da: global reflexion <office@...>
A: office@...
The Global Reflexion Foundation contributes, according to her ability,
to
the distribution of information on international issues that in the
media
does not recieve proper attention or is presented in a distorted way. We
receive information from different sources, that does not necessary
reflect
our opinion. If you don't want to receive it, please send us an e-mail.
Dear readers,
Till November 27 our office will be closed. Untill that date Jared
Israel
of Emperors Clothes will send you directly his updates.
Sincerely,
Nico Varkevisser
******************************************************
Wednesday, November 8, 2000
1. Kostunica grapples with war crimes in Yugoslavia
2. Who is Goran Svilanovic?
3. Unjust from the Start: The War Crimes Tribunal vs. General Djordje
Djukic
4. Bernard Kouchner's Legacy of Failure
****************************************************
Kostunica grapples with war crimes in Yugoslavia (excerpts)
Monday, November 6 11:25 PM SGT
BELGRADE, Nov 6 (AFP)
"The first move would be to "enable" the ICTY to open its office
in
Yugoslavia, and "together with our investigators, collect crimes
that
can be found on our territory," Svilanovic said."
President Vojislav Kostunica has agreed to allow the UN war crimes
tribunal to open an office in Belgrade and plans to set up a truth
commission to deal with Yugoslavia's wartime past, the foreign minister
said Monday.
"We cannot and we should not avoid facing the consequences of war and
responsibility for crimes," Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic was quoted
by the Beta news agency as saying.
Kostunica told visiting Austrian Foreign Minister Benita
Ferrero-Waldner
that the decision to allow the war crimes tribunal office to open did
not
indicate a shift in position over the fate of Slobodan Milosevic, wanted
for trial for crimes against humanity, an Austrian diplomat said.
Kostunica reiterated that he had other priorities than to hand over the
former Yugoslav president for trial at the Hague-based International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), said the diplomat.
The diplomat said Kostunica had indicated that it was more important
for
the country to tackle "its current severe economic problems" than
handing
Milosevic over to the ICTY.
In talks with Ferrero-Waldner, who currently heads the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Kostunica said he was "ready
to
accept the opening of an ICTY bureau in Belgrade," said the diplomat.
The people of Yugoslavia should be informed about "everything that was
done either in the name of alleged Serb national interests or against
the
Serb people," said Svilanovic, who was appointed as part of the new
government on the weekend.
The first move would be to "enable" the ICTY to open its office in
Yugoslavia, and "together with our investigators, collect crimes that
can
be found on our territory," Svilanovic said. (3)
"The second step would be to form a truth commission, comprising people
of full confidence of our public," he said, adding that such findings
should be followed by "establishing concrete responsibility and trials
in
the territory of our country."
Such a commission would be based on one established in South Africa
after
the end of apartheid, which probed human rights abuses under apartheid
and
recommended reparations for victims.
***
Further reading
1) 'An Impartial Tribunal? Really?' by Christopher Black at
http://emperors-clothes.com/analysis/Impartial.htm
2) 'Meeting with Carla del Ponte on NATO's Crimes of War'
by Michael Mandel at http://emperors-clothes.com/news/mandel.htm
(3) 'David Rohde, Srebrenica and the New Justice' by Jared Israel at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/jared/fulltext.htm
The URL for this article is
http://emperors-clothes.com/news/grappling.htm
www.tenc.net [Emperor's Clothes]
*******************************************************************
Who is Goran Svilanovic?
The Man Who Invited The War Crimes Tribunal to Belgrade
by Jared Israel (11-7-2000)
Goran Svilanovic became Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia last weekend.
Exactly how Svilanovic achieved this post without a vote of the Yugoslav
Parliament is a mystery, but in his newly acquired post, Svilanovic just
announced, with the apparent approval of Vojislav Kostunica, who has
taken
the post of President, that the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia (the 'War Crimes Tribunal') will establish an office
in
Belgrade and that 'his' government will fully cooperate in hunting down
'war criminals.'
This represents a reversal of Yugoslav policy. That policy was
established
by a government with a
majority of seats in the Federal Parliament. It does not appear that
Parliament has discussed this change; it has simply been announced.
Goran Svilanovic is Chairperson of the miniscule Serbian Citizens'
Alliance
party (GSS). He ascended to that position in August, 1999. The GSS has
had
the warmest relations with Washington. Its previous
chair, Vesna Pesic, was a founder of the Washington-funded group, 'Women
in
Black,' which simulated the appearance of a peace movement while
actively
discouraging resistance to the Washington/Bonn assault on Yugoslavia.
Pesic
is widely despised in Yugoslavia as a traitor. Another GSS leader, Zoran
Korac, a Belgrade psych professor, has appeared in Western mass media as
an
expert witness, arguing his pet theory, that the Yugoslav wars of
secession
were caused by Serbian aggression stemming from paranoia, the much
acclaimed 'victim mentality.'
Mr. Svilanovic met several times with US Special Envoy to the Balkans,
Robert Gelbard; for instance on August 4, 1999. ('Middle East News
Items,'
August 10, 1999 )
On Nov. 3. 1999 Svilanovic and other opposition leaders met in
Washington
with Madeline Albright who promised them more money and other support
and
praised their courage, etc. Following is the text of Svilanovic's
statement
made at that time, from Washington, D.C.:
Text of Svilanovic's statement, broadcast on Radio B2-92, Belgrade,
1600 gmt 4 Nov 99:
"Announcer: The chairman of the Serbian Civic Alliance GSS - member
of
the Alliance for Change
, Goran Svilanovic, has joined his party's news conference from
Washington by phone and said hat
the main achievement of meetings in Washington is the announcement
that a joint working group
of the US, the EU [European Union] and the Serbian opposition
representatives will be set up.
"Svilanovic: They see this working group here as a trilateral
commission. The US has publicly said
that it wishes, in conjunction with the EU, to establish a
committee
which would cooperate with a
democratic Serbia in the process of democratic reforms in the
country.
The idea that the EU and
the USA want and wish to work together and to define a joint policy
regarding Serbia is, as far as I
am concerned, the main achievement of all these meetings."
The URL for this article is http://emperors-clothes.com/news/goran.htm
www.tenc.net [Emperor's Clothes]
********************************************************
Unjust from the Start: The War Crimes Tribunal vs. General Djordje
Djukic
By Dr. Kosta Cavoski (posted 11-8-2000)
[Note: Prof. Kosta Cavoski is a distinguished Yugoslav law scholar who
has taught theory of law at the University of Belgrade. This is the
first
of a 4 part series by Dr. Cavoski on the International Criminal
Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia, the ICTY or War Crimes Tribunal.]
"Doctor Slobodan Ivkovic, who looked after [General] Djordje
Djukic during his last days, said that "inadequate treatment and
therapy during his time in [the War Crimes Tribunal] prison and
hospital brought on a sudden deterioration in the General's
health"
and added that General Djukic received salted, greasy food which
"third and fourth year medical students know that patients
operated
on for cancer of pancreas must not eat." Nasa Borba, 9 February
1996. [From footnote 6, below]
If things begin well there is a good chance that they will end well and
vice versa. The start of the first important case that was presented to
the International Criminal Tribunal was a complete fiasco. The case in
question was that of the Tribunal Prosecutor versus Djordje Djukic. It
ended disgracefully, leaving behind a sad example of serious violation
of
the guarantees and institutions of criminal law which are applied and
respected in all civilized countries.
Illegitimate Arrest
The arrest of a person is an exceptionally serous and dangerous act
with
regard to elementary human rights and should therefore be carried out
with
utmost caution. In civilized countries it is undertaken in accordance
with
procedural guarantees involving an arrest warrant when there exists
reasonable doubt that a crime has been carried out, or as apprehension
in
the line of duty during the actual perpetration of a serious crime.
General
Djordje Djukic was arrested by the Muslim authorities on a road that was
under the protection of the Implementation Force (IFOR). Neither the
court
in Muslim Sarajevo nor The Hague International Criminal Tribunal (i.e.
the
Prosecutor) had accused, let alone suspected him of any criminal act.
Arrest implies a legal process, but he was not even arrested, he was
simply
kidnapped in a form of highway robbery before the eyes of the IFOR.
This took place on 30 January 1996 on a road secured by IFOR. General
Lieutenant Colonel Djordje Djukic, assistant Chief of Staff of Logistics
of
the Republika Srpska Army in the rear, Aleksa Krsmanovic, Deputy
Commander
of the Sarajevo-Romanija Rear Corps, and driver Radenko
Todorovic, were driving along this road in a car with civilian
registration plates, having first informed IFOR of their route. In view
of
this, the arrest of General Djordje Djukic, Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic
and
Radenko Todorovic was an arbitrary act and in violation of the
well-known
legal institution of habeas corpus - the guarantee against arbitrary
arrest. At the moment of arrest none of these persons were breaking the
law, neither did there exist a valid warrant for their arrest.
Following their arrest General Djukic and Colonel Krsmanovic were
illegally detained for a full six days (from 30 January to 4 February
1996)
in police custody, even though the current law on criminal procedure in
Muslim Sarajevo states that police custody can only last 72 hours. It
was
only on 6 February that they were handed a ruling on custody when the
Sarajevo High Court instituted proceedings (court ruling no. Ki - 57/96)
against General Djordje Djukic on the grounds of suspected war crimes
against civilians. Until then General Djordje Djukic was subjected to
eight
days of torture and mental distress as a result of interminable
interrogation, sometimes lasting for 20 hours a day. All this was done
in
spite of Djukic's timely warning that he was seriously ill and that he
needed medical care and medication.
The Prosecutor's Gullibility and Rashness
However heinous and unforgivable this illegal and arbitrary behavior on
the part of the Muslim authorities, it didn't surprise anyone. In civil
and
religious wars mutual hatred has provoked many worse and more dangerous
crimes, particularly since the international actors in Bosnia were
biased
towards one side if not indifferent. What was surprising, however, was
the
tendency of the International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague, and
especially its prosecutor Richard Goldstone, to incorrectly apply and
breach the very rules that it had instituted. From November 1993 when
eleven judges were appointed and the Tribunal began to work, up to 30
January 1996 (two years and two months later), the Prosecutor's office
carefully collected all available data related to war crimes on the
territory of former Yugoslavia, in particular in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During this time absolutely no-one marked General Djordje Djukic and
Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic as suspected war criminals, even though all
sides, including the Muslim authorities in Sarajevo assisted in the
collection of data and the compilation of a list of suspects. This fact
should have prescribed at the very least restraint and great caution on
the
part of Prosecutor Richard Goldstone when he heard that high ranking
Serbian officers had been kidnapped as suspected war criminals by Muslim
authorities on a road supervised by IFOR. Instead of this, the ambitious
Richard Goldstone decided on 7 February to instigate proceedings against
General Djordje Djukic and Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic, thereby validating
the lawlessness of the Muslims and their alleged suspicion of the two
for
being war criminals. He then sent his experts to Sarajevo to investigate
this long awaited case. During talks with CSCE representatives in
Vienna,
Goldstone clearly stated that proof against Djukic and Krsmanovic "was
serious enough to call for
an investigation"(1). Hence Christian Chartier, spokesman of The Hague
Tribunal announced that Goldstone "had concluded that there were
adequate
grounds to take the Bosnian charges seriously and carry out an
investigation into the possible guilt of the suspects for acts under the
jurisdiction of the International Tribunal"(2).
On 12 February 1996, at the request of Prosecutor Richard Goldstone,
General Djordje Djukic and Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic were transferred to
the International Tribunal prison in The Hague as suspects. This implied
that in accordance with Rule 2 of the Tribunal "the Prosecutor possesses
reliable information which tends to show that they may have committed a
crime over which the Tribunal has jurisdiction". It is hardly necessary
to
say that the most important component of this sentence is the
reliability
of the information regarding alleged crimes committed by the suspects.
The Prosecutor's Violation of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence
To his great regret, Richard Goldstone very quickly realized that the
information he had received from Sarajevo was not at all reliable, and
that
the thirty or so officials sent to The Hague by the US Ministry of
Justice
at its own expense had not discovered anything of importance in the
meantime. Only then did he realize that at the very beginning of the
case
he had made an unforgivable mistake and seriously violated the
Tribunal's
Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
According to article 8 of the Statute of the International Tribunal of
25
May 1993, the Tribunal has concurrent jurisdiction with national courts
in
the pursuit of people who have seriously violated international
humanitarian laws on the territory of former Yugoslavia since 1 January
1991. At the
same time the primacy of the International Tribunal over national
courts
is stipulated. However, the practical application of such primacy occurs
only if at any stage in the procedure the International Tribunal demands
of
the national court that it defer its competence in accordance with the
Statute
and its Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
Since the High Court in Sarajevo had already instituted criminal
proceedings against General Djordje Djukic and Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic
under its ruling no. Ki-57/96, in order to initiate his own
investigation, Prosecutor Richard Goldstone should have fist proposed
to
the Trial Chamber that it submit a formal demand for deferral of
competence
of the national court to that of the Tribunal. The Trial Chamber would
then
have had to adopt his proposal so that the International Tribunal could
submit a formal demand to the state in question for its court to defer
competence. Only then the national court deferred competence to the
International Tribunal could the Prosecutor initiate an investigation
and
seek the transferal of the suspects to The Hague. Richard Goldstone,
however, did both - he initiated investigation and transferred the
suspects
- without having first proposed to the Trial Chamber that a formal
demand
for competence deferral be made, and waited for the decision of the
Chamber. This would have been followed by submission of the demand and
its
formal acceptance. He therefore broke Rules 9 and 10, which to him
should
have been inviolable.
(1. continua)
---
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Oggetto: Kostunica grapples with war crimes in Yugoslavia
Data: Wed, 08 Nov 2000 20:34:54 +0100
Da: global reflexion <office@...>
A: office@...
The Global Reflexion Foundation contributes, according to her ability,
to
the distribution of information on international issues that in the
media
does not recieve proper attention or is presented in a distorted way. We
receive information from different sources, that does not necessary
reflect
our opinion. If you don't want to receive it, please send us an e-mail.
Dear readers,
Till November 27 our office will be closed. Untill that date Jared
Israel
of Emperors Clothes will send you directly his updates.
Sincerely,
Nico Varkevisser
******************************************************
Wednesday, November 8, 2000
1. Kostunica grapples with war crimes in Yugoslavia
2. Who is Goran Svilanovic?
3. Unjust from the Start: The War Crimes Tribunal vs. General Djordje
Djukic
4. Bernard Kouchner's Legacy of Failure
****************************************************
Kostunica grapples with war crimes in Yugoslavia (excerpts)
Monday, November 6 11:25 PM SGT
BELGRADE, Nov 6 (AFP)
"The first move would be to "enable" the ICTY to open its office
in
Yugoslavia, and "together with our investigators, collect crimes
that
can be found on our territory," Svilanovic said."
President Vojislav Kostunica has agreed to allow the UN war crimes
tribunal to open an office in Belgrade and plans to set up a truth
commission to deal with Yugoslavia's wartime past, the foreign minister
said Monday.
"We cannot and we should not avoid facing the consequences of war and
responsibility for crimes," Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic was quoted
by the Beta news agency as saying.
Kostunica told visiting Austrian Foreign Minister Benita
Ferrero-Waldner
that the decision to allow the war crimes tribunal office to open did
not
indicate a shift in position over the fate of Slobodan Milosevic, wanted
for trial for crimes against humanity, an Austrian diplomat said.
Kostunica reiterated that he had other priorities than to hand over the
former Yugoslav president for trial at the Hague-based International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), said the diplomat.
The diplomat said Kostunica had indicated that it was more important
for
the country to tackle "its current severe economic problems" than
handing
Milosevic over to the ICTY.
In talks with Ferrero-Waldner, who currently heads the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Kostunica said he was "ready
to
accept the opening of an ICTY bureau in Belgrade," said the diplomat.
The people of Yugoslavia should be informed about "everything that was
done either in the name of alleged Serb national interests or against
the
Serb people," said Svilanovic, who was appointed as part of the new
government on the weekend.
The first move would be to "enable" the ICTY to open its office in
Yugoslavia, and "together with our investigators, collect crimes that
can
be found on our territory," Svilanovic said. (3)
"The second step would be to form a truth commission, comprising people
of full confidence of our public," he said, adding that such findings
should be followed by "establishing concrete responsibility and trials
in
the territory of our country."
Such a commission would be based on one established in South Africa
after
the end of apartheid, which probed human rights abuses under apartheid
and
recommended reparations for victims.
***
Further reading
1) 'An Impartial Tribunal? Really?' by Christopher Black at
http://emperors-clothes.com/analysis/Impartial.htm
2) 'Meeting with Carla del Ponte on NATO's Crimes of War'
by Michael Mandel at http://emperors-clothes.com/news/mandel.htm
(3) 'David Rohde, Srebrenica and the New Justice' by Jared Israel at
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/jared/fulltext.htm
The URL for this article is
http://emperors-clothes.com/news/grappling.htm
www.tenc.net [Emperor's Clothes]
*******************************************************************
Who is Goran Svilanovic?
The Man Who Invited The War Crimes Tribunal to Belgrade
by Jared Israel (11-7-2000)
Goran Svilanovic became Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia last weekend.
Exactly how Svilanovic achieved this post without a vote of the Yugoslav
Parliament is a mystery, but in his newly acquired post, Svilanovic just
announced, with the apparent approval of Vojislav Kostunica, who has
taken
the post of President, that the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia (the 'War Crimes Tribunal') will establish an office
in
Belgrade and that 'his' government will fully cooperate in hunting down
'war criminals.'
This represents a reversal of Yugoslav policy. That policy was
established
by a government with a
majority of seats in the Federal Parliament. It does not appear that
Parliament has discussed this change; it has simply been announced.
Goran Svilanovic is Chairperson of the miniscule Serbian Citizens'
Alliance
party (GSS). He ascended to that position in August, 1999. The GSS has
had
the warmest relations with Washington. Its previous
chair, Vesna Pesic, was a founder of the Washington-funded group, 'Women
in
Black,' which simulated the appearance of a peace movement while
actively
discouraging resistance to the Washington/Bonn assault on Yugoslavia.
Pesic
is widely despised in Yugoslavia as a traitor. Another GSS leader, Zoran
Korac, a Belgrade psych professor, has appeared in Western mass media as
an
expert witness, arguing his pet theory, that the Yugoslav wars of
secession
were caused by Serbian aggression stemming from paranoia, the much
acclaimed 'victim mentality.'
Mr. Svilanovic met several times with US Special Envoy to the Balkans,
Robert Gelbard; for instance on August 4, 1999. ('Middle East News
Items,'
August 10, 1999 )
On Nov. 3. 1999 Svilanovic and other opposition leaders met in
Washington
with Madeline Albright who promised them more money and other support
and
praised their courage, etc. Following is the text of Svilanovic's
statement
made at that time, from Washington, D.C.:
Text of Svilanovic's statement, broadcast on Radio B2-92, Belgrade,
1600 gmt 4 Nov 99:
"Announcer: The chairman of the Serbian Civic Alliance GSS - member
of
the Alliance for Change
, Goran Svilanovic, has joined his party's news conference from
Washington by phone and said hat
the main achievement of meetings in Washington is the announcement
that a joint working group
of the US, the EU [European Union] and the Serbian opposition
representatives will be set up.
"Svilanovic: They see this working group here as a trilateral
commission. The US has publicly said
that it wishes, in conjunction with the EU, to establish a
committee
which would cooperate with a
democratic Serbia in the process of democratic reforms in the
country.
The idea that the EU and
the USA want and wish to work together and to define a joint policy
regarding Serbia is, as far as I
am concerned, the main achievement of all these meetings."
The URL for this article is http://emperors-clothes.com/news/goran.htm
www.tenc.net [Emperor's Clothes]
********************************************************
Unjust from the Start: The War Crimes Tribunal vs. General Djordje
Djukic
By Dr. Kosta Cavoski (posted 11-8-2000)
[Note: Prof. Kosta Cavoski is a distinguished Yugoslav law scholar who
has taught theory of law at the University of Belgrade. This is the
first
of a 4 part series by Dr. Cavoski on the International Criminal
Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia, the ICTY or War Crimes Tribunal.]
"Doctor Slobodan Ivkovic, who looked after [General] Djordje
Djukic during his last days, said that "inadequate treatment and
therapy during his time in [the War Crimes Tribunal] prison and
hospital brought on a sudden deterioration in the General's
health"
and added that General Djukic received salted, greasy food which
"third and fourth year medical students know that patients
operated
on for cancer of pancreas must not eat." Nasa Borba, 9 February
1996. [From footnote 6, below]
If things begin well there is a good chance that they will end well and
vice versa. The start of the first important case that was presented to
the International Criminal Tribunal was a complete fiasco. The case in
question was that of the Tribunal Prosecutor versus Djordje Djukic. It
ended disgracefully, leaving behind a sad example of serious violation
of
the guarantees and institutions of criminal law which are applied and
respected in all civilized countries.
Illegitimate Arrest
The arrest of a person is an exceptionally serous and dangerous act
with
regard to elementary human rights and should therefore be carried out
with
utmost caution. In civilized countries it is undertaken in accordance
with
procedural guarantees involving an arrest warrant when there exists
reasonable doubt that a crime has been carried out, or as apprehension
in
the line of duty during the actual perpetration of a serious crime.
General
Djordje Djukic was arrested by the Muslim authorities on a road that was
under the protection of the Implementation Force (IFOR). Neither the
court
in Muslim Sarajevo nor The Hague International Criminal Tribunal (i.e.
the
Prosecutor) had accused, let alone suspected him of any criminal act.
Arrest implies a legal process, but he was not even arrested, he was
simply
kidnapped in a form of highway robbery before the eyes of the IFOR.
This took place on 30 January 1996 on a road secured by IFOR. General
Lieutenant Colonel Djordje Djukic, assistant Chief of Staff of Logistics
of
the Republika Srpska Army in the rear, Aleksa Krsmanovic, Deputy
Commander
of the Sarajevo-Romanija Rear Corps, and driver Radenko
Todorovic, were driving along this road in a car with civilian
registration plates, having first informed IFOR of their route. In view
of
this, the arrest of General Djordje Djukic, Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic
and
Radenko Todorovic was an arbitrary act and in violation of the
well-known
legal institution of habeas corpus - the guarantee against arbitrary
arrest. At the moment of arrest none of these persons were breaking the
law, neither did there exist a valid warrant for their arrest.
Following their arrest General Djukic and Colonel Krsmanovic were
illegally detained for a full six days (from 30 January to 4 February
1996)
in police custody, even though the current law on criminal procedure in
Muslim Sarajevo states that police custody can only last 72 hours. It
was
only on 6 February that they were handed a ruling on custody when the
Sarajevo High Court instituted proceedings (court ruling no. Ki - 57/96)
against General Djordje Djukic on the grounds of suspected war crimes
against civilians. Until then General Djordje Djukic was subjected to
eight
days of torture and mental distress as a result of interminable
interrogation, sometimes lasting for 20 hours a day. All this was done
in
spite of Djukic's timely warning that he was seriously ill and that he
needed medical care and medication.
The Prosecutor's Gullibility and Rashness
However heinous and unforgivable this illegal and arbitrary behavior on
the part of the Muslim authorities, it didn't surprise anyone. In civil
and
religious wars mutual hatred has provoked many worse and more dangerous
crimes, particularly since the international actors in Bosnia were
biased
towards one side if not indifferent. What was surprising, however, was
the
tendency of the International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague, and
especially its prosecutor Richard Goldstone, to incorrectly apply and
breach the very rules that it had instituted. From November 1993 when
eleven judges were appointed and the Tribunal began to work, up to 30
January 1996 (two years and two months later), the Prosecutor's office
carefully collected all available data related to war crimes on the
territory of former Yugoslavia, in particular in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During this time absolutely no-one marked General Djordje Djukic and
Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic as suspected war criminals, even though all
sides, including the Muslim authorities in Sarajevo assisted in the
collection of data and the compilation of a list of suspects. This fact
should have prescribed at the very least restraint and great caution on
the
part of Prosecutor Richard Goldstone when he heard that high ranking
Serbian officers had been kidnapped as suspected war criminals by Muslim
authorities on a road supervised by IFOR. Instead of this, the ambitious
Richard Goldstone decided on 7 February to instigate proceedings against
General Djordje Djukic and Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic, thereby validating
the lawlessness of the Muslims and their alleged suspicion of the two
for
being war criminals. He then sent his experts to Sarajevo to investigate
this long awaited case. During talks with CSCE representatives in
Vienna,
Goldstone clearly stated that proof against Djukic and Krsmanovic "was
serious enough to call for
an investigation"(1). Hence Christian Chartier, spokesman of The Hague
Tribunal announced that Goldstone "had concluded that there were
adequate
grounds to take the Bosnian charges seriously and carry out an
investigation into the possible guilt of the suspects for acts under the
jurisdiction of the International Tribunal"(2).
On 12 February 1996, at the request of Prosecutor Richard Goldstone,
General Djordje Djukic and Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic were transferred to
the International Tribunal prison in The Hague as suspects. This implied
that in accordance with Rule 2 of the Tribunal "the Prosecutor possesses
reliable information which tends to show that they may have committed a
crime over which the Tribunal has jurisdiction". It is hardly necessary
to
say that the most important component of this sentence is the
reliability
of the information regarding alleged crimes committed by the suspects.
The Prosecutor's Violation of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence
To his great regret, Richard Goldstone very quickly realized that the
information he had received from Sarajevo was not at all reliable, and
that
the thirty or so officials sent to The Hague by the US Ministry of
Justice
at its own expense had not discovered anything of importance in the
meantime. Only then did he realize that at the very beginning of the
case
he had made an unforgivable mistake and seriously violated the
Tribunal's
Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
According to article 8 of the Statute of the International Tribunal of
25
May 1993, the Tribunal has concurrent jurisdiction with national courts
in
the pursuit of people who have seriously violated international
humanitarian laws on the territory of former Yugoslavia since 1 January
1991. At the
same time the primacy of the International Tribunal over national
courts
is stipulated. However, the practical application of such primacy occurs
only if at any stage in the procedure the International Tribunal demands
of
the national court that it defer its competence in accordance with the
Statute
and its Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
Since the High Court in Sarajevo had already instituted criminal
proceedings against General Djordje Djukic and Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic
under its ruling no. Ki-57/96, in order to initiate his own
investigation, Prosecutor Richard Goldstone should have fist proposed
to
the Trial Chamber that it submit a formal demand for deferral of
competence
of the national court to that of the Tribunal. The Trial Chamber would
then
have had to adopt his proposal so that the International Tribunal could
submit a formal demand to the state in question for its court to defer
competence. Only then the national court deferred competence to the
International Tribunal could the Prosecutor initiate an investigation
and
seek the transferal of the suspects to The Hague. Richard Goldstone,
however, did both - he initiated investigation and transferred the
suspects
- without having first proposed to the Trial Chamber that a formal
demand
for competence deferral be made, and waited for the decision of the
Chamber. This would have been followed by submission of the demand and
its
formal acceptance. He therefore broke Rules 9 and 10, which to him
should
have been inviolable.
(1. continua)
---
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